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Unfortunately in the last few years too many ride have become a tight squeeze for me. But seeing as so many young kids are usually on this I can at least pretend that I don't fit on it simply because it's not built for me!

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Check out this very early photo of the Runaway Train's station back in 1974, taken after the park closed for the season. This photo even pre-dates the western swing doors in the rows. Also take note of the operator's booth on the load side of the platform. This was obviously changed to give the operator a better view of the train from behind the columns.

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Check out this very early photo of the Runaway Train's station back in 1974, taken after the park closed for the season. This photo even pre-dates the western swing doors in the rows. Also take note of the operator's booth on the load side of the platform. This was obviously changed to give the operator a better view of the train from behind the columns.

The train is also tied off to the one post to hold it in the Station. I assume someone would have to stand there and hold the brakes on for the whole off-season if it wasn't back then.

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If I had to guess, the photo was taken soon after closing in the cold fall months when they wanted guests to fill in the front seats to prevent it from saddling on the track. The rope probably just marked those cars/seats as closed.

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If that was the case, wouldn't just the "T-Bar" restraint in that car be tied off? How would it pull out of the Station tied to a post in the Station? And with the Brakes back then, how would it be held in the Station with no one on the Brakes? Unless they had some sort of "C-clamp" that went on the Track in front of a wheel on the 1st car, and one behind a wheel on the last Car. Something had to hold it in the Station back then.

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With those Brakes back then i bet that was what held the Train in the Station. Maybe there was another rope behind, or next to the Camera that we can't see in the shot. But with no one actually holding the brakes on, something had to keep it in place. Unless they had something to lock the wooden Brake lever in an "engaged" postion.

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The Runaway Train never had manually operated (lever) skid brakes. They were powered and were either in a lower of raised (engaged) position. In all the winter photos I have seen of the ride in the early days the trains were always stored on the spurs/transfer tracks for the off season.

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I thought it had the old "lever" skid brakes at first. I guess i have watched to many old Coaster video's lately, and mixed up my classic rides lol. But with that rope, maybe they didn't keep the Brakes in an "engaged" position if the Train was left in the station for a period of time in cooler weather. Maybe in the cold they would stick, and cause strain on the Braking system when they went to dis-engage the brakes.

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It is amazing that with all the ride changeouts over the years, this one has stayed around for so long. To me, it is still as entertaining as it used to be, despite the extreme nature of steel coasters today. I found it interesting to read on this site that the original plan was to have tunnel sections, but it was cost and schedule prohibitive. Was the coaster ever supposed to dip under the water?

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It is amazing that with all the ride changeouts over the years, this one has stayed around for so long. To me, it is still as entertaining as it used to be, despite the extreme nature of steel coasters today. I found it interesting to read on this site that the original plan was to have tunnel sections, but it was cost and schedule prohibitive. Was the coaster ever supposed to dip under the water?

It was supposed to go through an underwater tunnel but it would've been too expensive to do so. It wasn't until 1991 when Anaconda at kings Dominion opened as the first coaster with an underground tunnel.